United Kingdom national digital identity scheme, announced and then narrowed
UK DIGITAL ID, 2025
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What the document is
On September 26, 2025 the Prime Minister announced a national digital identity, carried in a phone wallet, that would be mandatory for proving the right to work in the United Kingdom. Public opposition followed, including a parliamentary petition signed by roughly three million people. In January 2026 the government dropped the mandatory element for British citizens, and in March 2026 published a consultation reframed around access to public services.
Why it is in the report
It is the clearest recent case of a government proposing identity as a precondition of employment in a Western democracy, in plain language, on the record. It is also the clearest recent case of that proposal being forced backward by ordinary people who objected. Both halves belong on this shelf.
Pull it yourself
- Open the House of Commons Library briefing on digital identity in the United Kingdom.
- Read the September 2025 announcement and the January 2026 change side by side.
- Read the March 2026 consultation document and note what is proposed as voluntary and what is not.
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